Pemex Transformación Industrial (PTI), the processing arm of Mexico’s state-owned Petroleos Mexicanos SA, is working to restart its 330,000-b/d Antonio Dovali Jaime refinery in Salina Cruz, Oaxaca, by the end of July following the plant’s complete shutdown in the wake of a June fire caused by flooding from Tropical Storm Calvin (OGJ Online, June 16, 2017).
Alongside beginning cleanup and repairs in areas of the manufacturing site impacted by the fire, PTI also is currently installing pumps to expedite delivery of crude feedstock to portions of the refinery not affected by the June 14 incident, Pemex said.
The pumps should allow PTI to restart pumping crude oil to these unaffected areas of the refinery before cleaning and repair works are completed, the operator said.
In addition to carrying out cleaning, rehabilitation, and repair works aimed specifically at resuming operations at the refinery, PTI has decided to use the current shutdown period to bring forward routine scheduled maintenance originally planned for April 2018.
Pemex—which also has completed a root-cause analysis investigation of the June fire—said it expects the Salina Cruz refinery to resume full operations on July 30.
The company reiterated that measures remain in place to guarantee timely fuel supplies to regional customers during the ongoing shutdown period.
The June 14 fire occurred following Pemex’s coordinated suspension of processing activities at the Salina Cruz refinery after torrential rains from Tropical Storm Calvin caused flooding in several areas of the refinery, Pemex said.
Rising floodwaters in the containment dam of a crude oil storage tank resulted in an oil spill that subsequently ignited, sparking a fire in the containment dam that later spread to the refinery’s pump room.
The fire—which Pemex firefighters fully extinguished on June 16—led to one fatality and several injuries.
Contact Robert Brelsford at [email protected].
